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VESTAL -- As one of the top 10 cloudiest cities in the nation, Binghamton isn't known as the sunshine capital. But Binghamton University may instead become the nation's solar energy capital with the cutting-edge research in its Center for Autonomous Solar Power (CASP).

Thursday marked the opening of two new laboratories at the New York State Center of Excellence in Small Scale Systems Integration and Packaging (S3IP), located in BU's Innovative Technologies Complex off Murray Hill Road.

"It means a four-letter word: jobs," U.S. Sen. Charles E. Schumer said. "Too often, New York institutions did research that was very nice in the ivory tower but didn't create jobs."

Industry partnerships -- such as those fostered by the Integrated Electronics Engineering Center, whose Reliability and Failure Analysis Laboratory was one of the two being honored -- are helping bridge the gap between university research and the marketplace, officials said.

Once located on the other side of campus, the IEEC -- one of the BU's oldest centers, dating back to 1996 -- conducts research in electronics packaging. Packaging, in this case, refers to what surrounds a microchip and connects with it electronically. Its reliability laboratory helps determine mechanisms behind the failure of components, and includes a range of testing procedures. The results are provided to affiliated companies, allowing them to troubleshoot problems.

One such test involves thermal imaging, which senior research scientist Stephen Cain demonstrated with a special camera. Scanning the insides of a computer running a slideshow, Cain showed which components were giving off heat.

"It's pretty sensitive," he said, slapping the desk. The camera showed the golden imprint of his hand, the residue of body heat.

The IEEC's total economic impact to companies was about $102 million last year and more than $900 million since 1996, said IEEC associate director Bill Infantolino. It saved or created 166 jobs last year and more than 1,740 since its start.

Over the last five years, the IEEC has brought $85 in economic impact for every dollar of state funding, Infantolino said.

Across the hall is CASP's solar energy lab, where researchers are working to develop thin-film solar cells made of inexpensive, non-toxic and abundant materials. The CASP facility is supported by $8.5 million in federal funding -- mainly from the Department of Defense -- secured in the past few years by U.S. Sens. Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand and Rep. Maurice Hinchey.

CASP may be one of the university's newest research centers, but already it's getting notice. Schumer said he was asked about CASP's research a year ago during a visit to China. Chinese officials were asking about BU's progress on thin-film research.

"They're anxious," Hinchey said.

Additional research facilities are on the horizon. The new Center of Excellence building is under construction directly in front of the ITC, BU President Harvey Stenger noted. And just last week, Stenger and other officials pitched BU's SUNY 2020 plan to Gov. Andrew Cuomo, which includes a proposal for a $70 million "smart-energy" facility focusing on research in solar and thermoelectric energy harvesting, energy storage and energy efficient electronic systems.

Once BU's solar research begins bearing fruit, the region may look like a much different place, officials said. And so might the world.

"Imagine if every window at 1 World Trade Center was a solar cell," Schumer said.